Tool puller



A Prl 9, v1940- E. G. SIMMONS 2,196,366

TO OL FULLER Filed July 26, 1939 /NI/ENTOA SIMMOQkS Patented Apr. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES Tool. FULLER Emmett G. Simmons, Butte, Mont., assignor to Anaconda Copper Mining Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Montana Application July 26, 1939, serial No. 286,522 6 claims. (c1. 25er-29)y This invention relates to tool pullers and more particularly to an improved typeV of puller for withdrawing jammed drills from boreholes.

In mining, quarrying, roadvwork and general construction, one of the most commonly used rock drills consists of a drill rod of from two to twelve feet in length which is fitted at one end with a bit which may or may not be detachable from the main body of the rod. Drills of this type are generally operated by high speed air hammers of considerable power and it is not uncommon for a bit and rodto become wedged or jammed in the boring by the accumulation of chips or fragments behind the wings of the bit. Up to the present time no completely satisfactory method has been devised for withdrawing a jammed drill as the apparatus has either been so cumbersome that the miner willnot bother with it or, if portable, has not possessed sufficient strength. When it is impossible to Withdraw a wedged rod, not only is the tool damaged by the blasting but the labor expended in drilling is also wasted as a new hole must be drilled. In those cases where the bits and drill rods have been withdrawn from jammed borings a great deal of time has been lost by the operator.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide a pulling tool adapted to withdraw drill rods and bits which have been wedged in the boreholes and which, in addition, is light in weight and hence readily portable. Furthermore the present design of puller is easily iitted to the drill rod and provision has been made so that the rod may be twisted as it is withdrawn so as to loosen the fragments which are binding the tool.

Other objects and features of the invention would be apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a puller tool I embodying the present invention and Figure 2 is a view, in vertical section, of the puller tool illustrated in Figure l.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the views, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated which is described with particular regard for its use with drill rods. However, it will be evident that only slight modification of the described apparatus will be necessary to adapt it to the pulling of pipe, bolts, spikes and other objects of a similar nature, and in many cases the identical design will be entirely satisfactory; The puller, as shown, consists of a base plate II,

the connes ofthe side frame I2.

of suflicientweight to avoid any chance of buckling, which is fitted with two, side lframes I2,

shaped of round bar stock inthe form of inverted Us and: mounted vertically on the base plate to which they are secured by welding. The side frames l2 support a collar I3 which is welded to the side frames and which is ,bored out to ilt looselyf over the drill rod I4. It is highly desirable that the general internal cross-section of the collar vconforms roughly to the outline of the rod so that the latter cannot turn within the former. The collar I3 lcarries projecting" pins I5 which serve as a fulcrum for the handle IE. To obtain the necessary leverage the handle I5 is apertured to receive an extension arm I1 which may conveniently be an extra drill rod. The under ysurface ofthe handle is provided with a pair of bosses IE which are drilled to receive the pin I9 from which vtheqlink 20 is. hung. As.shown, the pin is welded to the bosses I8' but it may be retained `bythe use vof cotter pins if desired; The ylower portion of the link contains a rectangular openingl through which is inserted the nose 2| of thegrip 22. The nose is retained in proper-working relation to the linkZI by the pin `231 which prevents its withdrawal, but which may ber easily knocked out when it is necessary to disassemble the tool.

The rod grip 22 is designed to i'lt loosely about the drill rod and may be forged of high strength tool steel. The inner surfaces of the grip vshould be treated on the upper side nearest the link 20 and on the lower side furthest removed from the link to provide bearing surfaces which will bite into the rod. Theseare indicated in Figure 2 ,asy hardened roughened areas 24 that are built up of weld metal which is grooved by filing and 'subsequently hardened in an acetylene flame.

Hardened steel inserts may also be used for this purpose. Bosses 25, are provided on the outer surface ,of the rod grip to keep the grip within Since, in some cases, the grip may slipl somewhat on the rod when pulling, a projection 32 is provided at the rear ofthe grip which may be tapped with a hammer causing it to grip the steel more securely and, when reinovingthe puller from the rod this also provides a convenient point at which to lift upon the grip and relieve binding. f

It is most important that the rod grip be kept under sufficient tension to grip the drill rod I4 firmly. This is accomplished by providing an arm 2S on the upper surface of the grip which is in contact with a plunger 21 that is forced against the arm by the compression spring 28 contained The degree of compression of the spring may be varied by adjusting the screw retainer 33. The effect of the spring pressure is to bind the grip upon the rod so that as the link is raised the gripping surfaces will not slip along the rnd In operation the jammed drill rod is detached from the air hammer and the puller is slipped over the rod and brought down as close to the face of the rock 30 as possible. If the contour of the surface is extremely irregular, one edge of the base plate may be supported with a block 3I to equalize the pressure. The only step which is now necessary is to insert a spare rod Il in the handle I6 and an upward lift on this arm will result in a lift on the link 20 which will in turn pull up the grip 22 and therefore the drill rod I4. When the arm I'I has been lifted its full swing, the entire pulling operation is repeated by returning the handle to its former position causing the grip to bite in a new, lower, position on the drill rod. This procedure is followed until the rod is loosened so that it may he withdrawn by hand.

The mechanical advantage of the tool may be computed by comparing one lever arm, the horizontal projection of the distance between pins I5 and I9, approximately one and a half inches, with the second lever arm which is the distance from pin I5 to the point where the extension arm I'I is grasped, about fifty inches. As a result of this ratio of thirty-three to one a man can exert a pull of over three tons on the rod I 4, a force which is more than ample and an even greater pull can of course be obtained by using a longer drill rod as a handle extension.

The fact that the handle IG and collar I3 combine to form a socket Wrench by means of which the rod may be twisted is of immense help in freeing the drill, especially as a pulling and twisting force may be applied simultaneously.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is illustrative only and may be widely modied and departed from in many ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as pointed out in and limited solely by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A drill rod puller of the kind described comprising a tool grip, a collar aflxed to a supporting frame, a handle pivotally joined to said collar and a link hinged to said handle between the point of attachment of the handle to the collar and the point of application of effort, the bore of said collar being non-circular and similar in contour to the cross-sectional outline of the drill rod to be pulled.

2. The drill rod puller dened in claim 1 in which means are provided for maintaining said tool grip in binding contact with the rod to be pulled regardless of the position of the rod or the stress upon the handle.

3. The drill rod puller defined in claim l in which a spring is interposed between said link and said grip, said spring being eiective to maintain the grip in binding relation with the drill rod to be pulled regardless of the position of the rod.

4. A combined rod puller and wrench coinprising a tool grip effective to exert a stress upon the rod to be pulled parallel to its axis, a collar whose bore is non-circular and similar in contour to the cross-sectional outline of the rod to be pulled and eective to transmit a torsional stress to the rod, a handle attached to said collar and a link joining said grip and said handle at a point on the handle between the point ol' application of effort and the point of attachment oi' the handle to said collar.

5. The combined rod puller and Wrench described in claim 4 in which means are provided for maintaining said tool grip in binding contact with the rod to be pulled regardless of thc position of the rod or the stress upon the handle.

6. The combined rod puller and wrench described in claim 4 in which a spring is interposed between said link and said grip, said spring being eiective to maintain the grip in binding relation with the drill rod to be pulled regardless of the position of the rod.

EMMETT G. SIMMONS. 

